Seth looped around and squared himself toward his next target. As he fired the sonic machine guns on the underside of his wings, the cockpit rattled as the bullets sprayed away from the ship and splashed across the hull of the nearest Asterfighter coming toward him. It exploded in a brilliant fury of spherical fireballs.
Immediately, unable to savor the kill, he jerked his control stick to avoid the increasing number of asteroids floating into the battlefield. With the appearance of each new asteroid, it was becoming a suicidal fight for both sides. Two years and a day ago, retreat would have been an option. Not anymore. Pure hate drove them to continue the battle.
"Why are we still hanging around the base?" he radioed to his flight commander. "Wouldn’t it be more prudent to destroy the transports leaving their base? There are several officers aboard."
"Lady Arwell wants the base."
"They’ll no doubt set the autodestruct before giving it to us."
They will no doubt set the autodestruct before giving it to us.
Parker adjusted his radio scanner, but the signal was lost. He felt his stomach tighten, and then a feeling of nausea, brought about by the sound of Seth’s voice. A chirp came from his right; his scanners pinpointed the transmission source. It was coming from only one hundred meters away, from the ship slashing in and out of his targeting screen. Seth’s ship.
"Red Dust, Quartz, Olympus, escort our transport into open space. I have this bogey ahead of us."
"But we have him boxed in."
"Rescuing our personnel is top priority; I can handle him," Parker replied, but he was unsure if he believed his own words. Seth had special abilities, and they enhanced his flying ability. His work with the starwings had proved it. Parker was witness. Yet he wasn’t fearful.
Parker dodged toward Seth’s fighter, cutting it off from the MSA support and sending it into the asteroid field. He followed into the rocky maze. He adjusted his radar to account for the increased asteroid debris, diverted power to his shielding systems, and prepared his heart to kill Seth.
Asteroids zipped across his view from every angle. Purposefully, systematically, he fired at Seth’s fighter. His shots pushed Seth farther and farther away from his MSA support, into a more manageable position. Seth’s inexperience in dogfights was apparent with each course correct. Parker drew in a deep breath. His experience might be able to overcome Seth’s strength in the end.
Parker jerked and twisted his control stick. His face tightened as an asteroid slammed into the canopy. He grimaced for no reason. The shielding rippled, and the plasma surge dissipated. No damage.
Reorienting his viewscreen, he looked ahead, and a pang of excitement flowed down his spine. Apparently, Seth wasn’t as lucky; his hull sparked on the port side. One of his two machine guns was gone. The asteroid concentration in the area had been too much for his less agile MSA fighter.
"Seth," Parker radioed. He had been best friends with Seth for over five years but felt like he was radioing a stranger. "Power down, I’ll tow you to our rally point."
"You’ll have to kill me," he said, "because I reject the Alliance."
"I don’t want to—"
"I’ve no room for your Alliance. We’re the future."
"Listen to yourself, ‘We’re the future.’ The MSA is corrupt. It has all been a facade."
"The only facade is the effectiveness of your old government. The Cortez family and the two governments of Mars will never betray me again."
"The people are Mars. We are fallible. You can’t have it any other way."
"Hans can make people infallible," Seth said. "We have the power, and it has already begun. I’ve gained more reassurance from the MSA than in a lifetime with your Martian leaders. I’m no longer scared of Mars. I control it."
"Gwen controls Mars. Not you. She is using you like her father did."
"I control Gwen. She loves me without question, without judging my wants. She allows me to make Mars the way I want it to be."
"Gwen loves you…You have betrayed your commitment to Chloe. You are lost further than I ever thought you could be."
"I’ve used Gwen no less than she has used me. That is the true nature of humanity."
"Our nature is to be immoral?"
"We thrive on strength and power. Compassion can only hold us back. The weak don’t deserve coddling."
"You’ll never get Chloe back with that attitude."
"If I were as I was before, I wouldn’t want her back. She deserves better than a coward. Instead I’m finding a cure and turning Mars into the paradise we both want."
"You can’t run Mars. You aren’t a politician."
"The power that is within me is enough. Chloe will understand when I cure her and we are together again."
"She only wants to be with you. You have to realize her illness is fatal."
"Shut up," Seth said. His ship yawed upward.
"Don’t come around. I have you locked. I’ll fire."
Seth’s fighter kept its arching turn. Parker, tugged two ways by pity and hate, tracked it with his targeting computer. Seth had no chance.
Reluctantly, sadly, Parker fired his turrets toward him. The bullets tore apart the back of Seth’s fighter. A short burst of flames erupted, and then the ship shot out of the asteroid field, helplessly flipping end over end deeper into outer space.
Parker thrust after Seth’s ship. He read no energy signs and was unable to tell whether his friend was still alive or not.
"Seth," he radioed to the fighter. No reply came.
Parker adjusted his fighter, synchronizing an orbit with the spinning fighter. He saw Seth staring back at him.
"I know you are awake," Parker said into the radio. "Reply."
"Just kill me," Seth said. "I don’t want your pity or compassion."
"I won’t kill you. But I ask you to come back with me."
"Never. My future lies with the MSA or death." He spit distain between his words. "But certainly stay here, I want you captured and executed as a traitor."
"How can you say that to a crew member?"
"Our crew," Seth scoffed. "Only Gwen and I saw which side was right. Don’t label me with the moniker of Protector crew member. It is an insult to me."
Parker’s nostrils flared at the sickening stench of the sweat soaking into his space suit. "You are an insult to a human. You always have been," he replied. "You’re a coward, and your fear for Mars has filled you with anger and aggression. The next time we meet in battle, I will kill you."
"Kill me now. Your compassion is your weakness. It betrays you like it once betrayed me. Your tolerance can only lead to betrayal. Mars needs uniformity."
"Chloe doesn’t believe in your MSA. Would you kill her?"
Seth didn’t reply.
"Answer me—"
Parker’s console flashed a proximity alert. The MSA fighters were heading toward him. He shook his head. What had happened to Seth?
"Answer me. I want to tell her you are dead to us."
Seth remained silent.
Parker couldn’t wait any longer, and he couldn’t kill Seth either. He deactivated his weapons systems, switched the power to his engines, activated his thrusters, and headed to the rally point to save his family. Now that the MSA knew he was outside the Martian Mines of Valles Marineris, he had to beat the MSA fleet to Mars.
Part II
Chapter 8
It was early in the morning when Gwen Arwell, Hans Bauer, and Dakota Lars set foot in the MSA’s advanced research terrarium. The word terrarium, normally used when observing plants at a smaller scale, was somewhat appropriate for the cave system in which the crops were grown. It was fully enclosed, the walls sealed with a thin layer of polymers, and the two entrances, separated by five kilometers on opposite ends, were triple-door systems. Nothing entered or exited without MSA Command clearing it first.
With the smell of the flowers sweeping through the air, Gwen’s skin tightened into goose bumps, and a chill ran down her back. Cro
ps stretched across the floor. Rows and rows waved back and forth as fans brushed air over them, creating a soft din of rustling leaves. The cave was alive.
Gwen, seeing flowers in the distance, proceeded toward them, leaving her escorts behind. The sweet fragrance lifted her chest. She plucked a rose between her fingers and pulled it from its stem. Holding it against her nose, her first thought was of pre-apocalyptic Earth and the blanket of plants that covered its surface.
She dropped the flower to the ground. She wanted to create that for Mars.
"You are impressed," Dakota Lars said from behind her.
Gwen didn’t reply. She turned toward the waving crops. She had come to the research caves because she didn’t trust Hans Bauer. She never had, and a firsthand inspection was the best way to keep tabs on his progress. Up until now, Samantha had run this program, and to a lesser degree, Seth kept tabs on Hans, but since they hadn’t found a cure and Seth’s journey to Aethpis had left him despondent, Gwen had to intervene while he was away. Seth didn’t admit it, but Chloe’s betrayal mortified him. Gwen hated Chloe for what she had done to his life. With an effort, she had controlled herself and had not ordered Chloe’s immediate execution.
No…the best way to get Seth to love her was to find a cure for Chloe, fulfilling her side of their arrangement. Then Seth would fulfill his.
Hans Bauer was the key to finding it, and her inspection of his activities motivated him. Samantha and Seth had been too lenient with Hans’s progress. They had coddled his delicate temperament for far too long. She would start anew with the doctor, pressuring him—with threats if need be.
Gwen turned her head to Dakota, opening her hands to the plants. "This has been feeding the population of Mars."
"This is one of ten cave systems that Mars Medical and Mars Agricultural administer."
"And they are a secret?" Gwen eyed Dakota.
"Of course," she said. "We can’t have the Alliance sabotaging the people’s food supply."
Gwen stooped to her knees, grabbed the loose soil between her fingers, and shook it. "This is Martian soil. You can grow plants in it? Hydroponics has dominated our growing because Mars is dead."
"You still doubt me," Hans said, using the same arrogant tone as he had during his visit to Lunara colony. That visit from Hans Bauer had spurred the entire new era of Mars, and Gwen’s ascension to leadership over Mars. Even if it had incited the MSA into existence, she still hadn’t forgiven him for his treatment of her crew, especially Seth and Chloe. Now it angered her to remember her fight for Chloe, but at the time, Chloe was still her best friend, and Gwen’s love for Seth hadn’t fully enveloped her.
"I must doubt it," Gwen said. "The surface is still bare of crops. Therefore you haven’t figured out everything yet."
"This facility must be controlled. Samantha understands this, and so should you."
Gwen stiffened slightly. "You don’t understand that I need these crops to grow along the surface. It is another showcase for the MSA."
"You’re unaware of the complexity of the situation in which the crops need to be cared for."
"My atmospheric engineers have determined that it is possible to grow plants along the surface…if the soil is right. It might not be as controlled as your cave system, but the amount of oxygen and food produced is infinitely more bountiful."
"Didn’t Samantha explain to you why this facility and the others like it are important to us?"
"Of course she did," Gwen said, partly lying to Hans. She had read Samantha’s report, but it talked mostly about food yield and oxygen production rates. She wanted to find out if Hans was going to reveal anything further.
"Then you understand why we must keep the Alliance from destroying this facility. Producing crops outside would be tantamount to destroying it ourselves."
"The people would not destroy food."
"They would steal it."
She furrowed her brow. "Yes, but I would ensure its survival. Even in theft, Martians will know that the MSA provides the food for Mars."
Dakota stepped between them. "Perhaps with a tour, we’ll appreciate each other’s viewpoint."
Gwen followed Hans and Dakota. She started toward the center of the terrarium. As they were walking along, she saw several different species of plants, arranged in cordoned-off strips. One section in particular was distanced from the other crops. She eyed it for a long moment.
"Onions," Dakota said, having followed her gaze.
"Pardon?" She turned to Dakota.
Dakota pointed her finger toward the distant section. "Onions. They are nasty little buggers, poisoning the soil for other plants so nothing can grow around them. We triple the spacing."
Gwen knew a little about plants and hydroponics from Lunara, and the colony’s botanist always sectioned off certain plants from growing in the same tanks. This sectioning was similar. "Why grow them?"
Dakota smirked with pride. "This is a research facility."
They continued between the crops.
As they approached where Hans had indicated, Gwen put her hand to her nose. A horrific odor emanated from ahead. It was definitely from the fecal family of smells, but she didn’t think it was sewage. With the dietary supplements given to horses, it shouldn’t be from them.
"What is that?"
"Manure," Hans replied. "From our herd of cows."
"Cows are extinct. We didn’t take any on the pilgrimage voyage. Our basic pilgrimage courses at school always contended it was a highly debated topic."
"An imprudent debate, I can assure you. Blood samples were taken from the animals on Earth," Hans replied. "We engineered the cows. But that isn’t the special part."
"Let me guess. It is the smell," Gwen said.
"Actually, it is," he replied. "The manure is how we grow everything in the Martian soil."
"You use the waste of the animal?"
Hans sighed. "Mars has stolen everyone’s basic knowledge of the land."
She waved her hand. She didn’t need Hans’s brilliant babblings patronizing her. "The cows," she said. "Can I see them?"
"That’s why you came, isn’t it?" Hans replied, eyeing her reaction.
She did her best to stay smooth and hide her irritation with his arrogance. "Of course," she said, but in truth, even after Samantha’s debriefing, she didn’t know what to expect from this facility. She knew her father’s private gardens were extensive, and secrecy shrouded them. Samantha had always been more adept at the scientific parts of the MSA, and seeing the terrarium, listening to Hans, and feeling the life flow throughout the cave, Gwen knew she could never understand how it worked. She hoped to learn enough to point Hans toward the cure and get him to focus on it.
After a short walk, Hans led her through an opening in the cave wall and into another smaller cave, approximately the size of a cruiser. The manure’s odor intensified in this area, but it didn’t bother her any longer. She focused on the animals. Few animals existed on Mars. Of those still alive, mostly rodents remained.
From the back of the cave came a long baritone moan, sounding similar to someone in distress, but then, an instant later, it was countered with a jovial moan in reply. It was the cows. Their mooing made her smile.
Then moving in farther, Gwen saw the animal. It lumbered behind a fence. She found herself agape. The animal seemed to have jumped out of the picture books her father showed her as a child. The torso was plump and round, the legs were thin, disproportionate to the weight it carried along its waist, and the head swung two great horns that arched out from its ears. Lowering its head, the cow stuck it into a long trough, and with its long tongue licked green algae paste.
Gwen walked cautiously to the meter-high fence. She couldn’t take her eyes off the horns. She gathered that the cow would wreak havoc if it were provoked. She reached her hand out and brushed the back of the closest cow. The skin brushed soft and hairy along her fingers. The animal’s docile demeanor surprised her. When she was a child, her father had told her
stories about the predatory animals of Earth, frightening her no end. Perhaps, like all stories, he exaggerated for effect, or perhaps this wasn’t one of the predators. This particular animal seemed oblivious to her.
She tipped her finger into the green goo the cows ate out of the trough. "They are eating algae paste?"
"Yes," Dakota said. "We modified it for its metabolism."
"And it’s not dangerous?" Gwen asked, keeping her eye on the beast. "The horns."
"Humans domesticated cows long ago. They aren’t dangerous unless you provoke them. Have no fear, they are cowards by nature."
"Really, in such a strange place, I thought it would intimidate them."
"Everyone has somewhere we call home," Dakota replied.
"I suppose so," she said. "Genetic engineering of the plants…I want to learn more about their growth."
Dakota nodded. "I’ll show you. Come this way."
She lead Gwen back to the main cave.
After a long walk down several rows of plants, Dakota stopped them in front of a waist-high stock, labeled wheat. She palmed the end of a stock. "Phase I was the growth process of the plants. Phase II, the engineering of them. Wheat is one of our bigger successes because genetically it is more complicated than most other plants you see. It has two sets of chromosomes, but we were able to manipulate the DNA into reproducing how we want it to form. The grains you see on these plants are twice the size of the largest ever found on Earth."
Gwen eyed Hans to the side. He stood with his arms crossed and a scowl of pure contempt on his face. No doubt he was wondering why she had showed up at his facility after two years without questions.
For some reason, he still made her uneasy. "So we have been able to supply more food to our people with larger yields?" she asked.
Dakota hesitated. "In a way, yes. But it mostly has to do with what we can provide within the foods—"
"Dakota is too modest," Hans said. "Our yields have tripled since we took over these caves from your father’s scientists."
Gwen’s face contorted. "Tripled? Why didn’t my father have you researching this earlier?"
Lunara: The Original Trilogy Page 72